Confrontation

"We're just a small music studio. There are many things we don't have the power to decide for ourselves. Please don't make things difficult for us."

As I listened to Jason's words, the very last trace of hope in my heart shattered completely.

Jessica had been using me from the very beginning.

She had turned everything that belonged to me into stepping stones for Christian, while I had been moved by her supposed devotion and making excuses for why she kept postponing marriage like a fool.

Now that I had connected all the dots, I practically rocketed out of the studio.

There was only one thought in my mind. I wanted answers from the woman herself.

…

By the time I arrived at the company, I ignored the secretary's alarmed attempts to stop me and charged straight toward the CEO's office.

"Mommy, I want ice cream!"

A child's voice made my footsteps come to an abrupt halt.

Inside the office, Jessica sat in the chair with a little boy cradled in her arms. Christian, who was dressed in a tailored designer suit, stood beside her with one arm affectionately around her shoulders.

Judging by the tilt of his head and the smile on his lips, he was speaking to her in a low, intimate voice.

Even though I had already learned of the child's existence, seeing him in person still struck me so hard that my chest tightened with unbearable pain.

Christian noticed me first.

His expression stiffened instantly. He hurriedly rose from the sofa, causing the child in his arms to wobble unsteadily.

Jessica sensed something was amiss, so she turned.

When she saw me, surprise flashed through her eyes before she instinctively stepped in front of Christian and the child protectively. "Why are you here?"

I tugged at the corner of my lips into a stiff smile, but there was no hiding the despondent look in my eyes. "You're right. I shouldn't have come and interrupted a wonderful family time. It really was unnecessary of me."

When Jessica heard my words, she frowned and snapped in irritation, "Christopher, what are you up to now? Do you have to ruin a perfectly good day?"

Christian quickly stepped forward and grabbed Jessica's arm. "Jessica, don't be angry at Mr. Thomson. He's just misunderstood things. I'll explain it to him."

"I wasn't talking to you." I shot Christian a cold glance.

The gentle look on Christian's face slipped. He even had the audacity to look at me as though I'd pointed a blade at his neck.

The little boy wriggled out of his arms and toddled toward me. Then, he raised his hands and shoved me hard. "Bad guy! Stop bullying my daddy!"

The child was too young to possess much strength.

The moment he pushed me, he lost his own balance and fell onto the floor with a thud. His nose immediately scrunched up as if he were about to cry.

Christian cried out in alarm and rushed over, scooping the child into his arms. When he looked up at me again, he was already on the verge of tears.

"Mr. Thomson, if you're angry, take it out on me. My child is still young. How could you bear to hurt him?"

Jessica strode forward and tightly shielded Christian and the child in her embrace. The look she gave me turned stone cold.

"Christopher, that's enough! How can you argue with a child?"

I stood there motionless, watching the fiercely protective way she guarded them. All I felt was absurdity and heartbreak.

Everyone had ditched Jessica at the curb when the Sullivan Group went bankrupt. Still, Christian, who was her fiancé at the time, had been the first to tear up the engagement, seize their assets, marry someone else, and flee overseas.

He had even joined forces with outsiders to crush the Sullivan Group completely, driving Jessica into despair.

It was I who stayed by her side.

I gave up my future, left my home, and followed her across the ocean to Tylen when she had nothing. I lived with her in a basement apartment, surviving on instant noodles soaked in cold water.

I handed over all my savings to her and stayed by her side as she slowly rebuilt everything from the ground up.

However, I now understood that all those years of companionship could never compare to her childhood sweetheart.

At that moment, every question I had wanted to ask suddenly felt ridiculous.

I slapped the payroll card down in front of Jessica. "Fine. Since you are so kind-hearted, I won't stop you from taking care of them."

Being Taken Away

"Give me back all the income from the works I created at the music studio over these years. From now on, we owe each other nothing."

Jessica froze for a moment before her expression darkened even further.

"It's only a bit of money. As long as you stay with me, you'll never have to worry about such things for the rest of your life. Why are you making such a big deal out of this? Christian has a child to raise. It hasn't been easy for him.

"Just treat it as taking pity on him and stop obsessing over this matter." As she spoke, she pulled a checkbook from the drawer and tore out a blank check. "Write whatever amount you want yourself. Just stop causing trouble for me."

"I don't want your charity." I refused to take the check. "I only want what belongs to me. My copyrights and the honors I earned from those awards, I want all of it back."

Jessica looked at me with a sinister gaze.

"How dare you! Don't forget that I was the one who gave you food and shelter. Right now, half the business industry in Tylen City answers to me. If you insist on tearing things apart, don't blame me for forgetting our past."

At that moment, my entire body stiffened, and my heart finally turned cold.

I had witnessed her ruthless methods countless times in the business industry before, but I had never imagined that one day she would use that same cruelty against me.

…

Just as the tension in the room reached its breaking point, Christian suddenly let out a startled cry, "Jessica, something's wrong! Our baby's asthma is acting up!"

In that split second, Jessica's face changed instantly.

I was no longer at the forefront of her mind. Instead, she hastily scooped the child into her arms and rushed outside.

When she passed by me, she even hollered for security.

"Throw this lunatic out. Don't let him set foot inside the company ever again."

I stood frozen in place as I watched them disappear into the distance, feeling as though every ounce of strength had been drained from my body.

Now that I was thrown out onto the roadside, I couldn't help but look at the city I had lived in for five years with hollow eyes. Suddenly, the familiar streets looked like yawning monsters instead.

Only one thought remained in my mind, and that was to leave this place as soon as I could.

…

Then, I returned to the house I had shared with Jessica for five years and quickly packed my belongings, carefully placing my parents' keepsakes at the very bottom of my suitcase before pulling it toward the door.

The moment I opened it, two police officers were standing outside.

"Don't move! Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

I froze.

"My name is Christopher Thomson, and I've lived in this house for five years. I'm just packing my things and leaving."

The officers pulled out a copy of the property ownership documents and placed it in front of me.

"The registered owner of this house is Christian Wyven. He personally reported that you entered his property without permission and attempted to remove valuable items. Please cooperate with our investigation and come with us."

My mind went blank.

I had never imagined that even the house I'd lived in for five years belonged to Christian.

I wondered how many things Jessica had hidden from me.

It didn't matter how hard I tried to plead my case; the officers insisted on treating me like a thief and taking me away.

During the struggle, my suitcase fell to the ground. It had burst open after being dragged roughly across the floor, scattering everything inside. My parents' photograph crashed onto the ground, and the glass shattered everywhere, scratching the photo beyond recognition.

Even the bracelet my mother had never once taken off fell and snapped cleanly into two pieces.

"That's mine!"

I tried to bend down to pick it up, but the officers restrained me.

"Don't move. All of these items are considered stolen property until the matter is clarified. You're coming with us!"

I had no way to defend myself.

Once we got to the precinct, the officers followed standard procedure and took my statement. Afterward, they called Jessica to verify my identity.

"Ms. Jessica? This is the local police department. We currently have a man named Christopher Thomson here who is suspected of stealing items from property belonging to Christian Wyven. We'd like to verify his identity with you, as well as clarify the relevant circumstances."

Someone Bailed Him Out

Silence fell over the other end of the call.

During those few empty seconds, I stood beside the officers with my heart lodged in my throat.

I was still holding onto one final sliver of hope. I thought that no matter how angry Jessica was, she would at least tell the police that I wasn't a thief. However, my blood ran cold when she finally spoke.

"I understand. Just follow the normal procedures. Thieves these days really are getting bolder and bolder. He needs to learn a lesson so he won't act recklessly again."

At that moment, I knew that Jessica had known about Christian calling the police from the very beginning.

She had decided to go along with it just because I had defied her and offended Christian in the process. She was going to abandon me here and use this method to pressure me into admitting defeat.

And so, the police completed the procedures and locked me inside the detention center.

Life behind the cells was dark and miserable. The other detainees constantly found ways to bully me when they saw how withdrawn I was. I was never a fighter, so I could only curl up on the hard bunk in the corner and stare blankly at the peeling walls.

It wasn't until the afternoon of the fourth day that Jessica's assistant finally came to visit me.

"Mr. Thomson, Ms. Sullivan said that she'll bail you out immediately as long as you admit your mistake."

I slowly lifted my eyes toward him, tugged at the corner of my lips, and spat out a single word.

"Leave."

The assistant's expression stiffened instantly.

In the end, he said nothing and quietly left.

…

After the assistant relayed my response, Jessica became furious.

"Fine, so he's got a spine of steel. Since he refuses to lower his head, he can stay there longer. I'd like to see how long he can keep acting tough."

That was what she said, yet she became inexplicably restless over the following days.

The documents on her desk remained unread. Her thoughts drifted constantly to me during important meetings. My face would flash through her mind even when Christian brought the child to visit her at the company.

As if that wasn't torment enough, her brain would conjure up the image of the days we spent in our dingy basement apartment. She couldn't help but recall how I had pushed the only bowl of hot soup toward her with a smile and claimed I wasn't hungry.

The longer Jessica dwelled on it, the more irritated she became. Eventually, she found an excuse to send Christian away before summoning her assistant into the office.

"When is Christopher getting out?"

The assistant froze briefly before quickly checking the records. "Ms. Sullivan, the detention period is seven days. He'll be released in two days."

Jessica nodded and dismissed him. As she leaned back in her chair, the tension in her chest loosened slightly for reasons she herself couldn't explain.

She figured she would personally pick me up once I was released. She'd debase herself and bring me home even though I was being a complete donkey.

After all, she wasn't that heartless to let me suffer without a roof over my head.

Therefore, she canceled all her appointments and waited outside the detention center half an hour early on the day of my release.

As she leaned against her car, she repeatedly rehearsed in her mind what she should say when she saw me.

However, she did not have the chance to speak those words. As the detention center doors opened and closed, one batch of released inmates after another left before returning to wherever they were supposed to go. Until finally, the entrance stood completely empty.

I never appeared.

Jessica's brows knitted tightly together. She strode into the reception hall and questioned the staff. "Christopher is scheduled for release today. Where is he?"

The staff member checked the system records before looking up at her and replied, "Christopher Thomson? Someone bailed him out yesterday."

Jessica stood frozen in place, the blood in her body turning cold.

I had spent five years in Tylen City with an unbelievably small social circle. My entire world had revolved around her alone. Hence, she couldn't help but wonder just who had bailed me out.